What Makes Hip Hop? The Artist or the Hip Hop Beats?

Hip hop music and rap music have been around for years now, well over two decades.  And, when you glance back to the days of when hip hop was really popular, versus to what hip hop is at this current day and age, the debate tends to come up, almost similar to the whole "chicken and egg" topic.  The debate is quite simple:  What makes hip hop, the artist, or the beat?

The debate, as far as I'm concerned, can go on either end of the spectrum, depending however on the generation or timeframe that you're reflecting on.  For instance, personally, I believe that back in the early 80's, while the beats or instrumentals being used were catchy, the lyrics, I felt, played more of an impact.  Artists like Public Enemy definitely brought about a lyrical following, and topics that were touched upon back in the day were also very deep and moving.  Even with the later 80's and early 90's, artists like Nas continued to show great lyrical skills on the mic, with content that would stimulate the mind of anyone listening to hip hop music or rap music.  At that time, the lyrics were more powerful on the ears and mind than the beats were, though a great beat still was needed and helped to make these tracks even more enjoyable to listen to.

Fast forward to current day, and I will have to strongly go towards the beat now making hip hop more than anything over the artist.  While there are still some strong lyricists out there such as Lupe Fiasco, Kenn Starr, Skyzoo, or Common who's still around delivering lyrical content, more of "hip hop" has taken a commercial approach, and a backseat on lyrical content.  Songs like "Stanky Legg" or "Walk It Out" have definitely come across stronger as dance music, but still are categorized as hip hop or rap.  However, listening to songs such as these, clearly shows that there isn't nearly as much focused onto lyrical content, as there is on the beat itself.  When you hear Soulja Boy, you think of the beat automatically, whereas when Jay-Z for example, comes to mind, lyrical content is clearly the first thought.

So with hip hop music and rap music clearly changing the format and way it used to be in this current century, what makes hip hop stand out more?  Clearly, the hip hop beats and rap instrumentals that are on albums and mixtapes are standing out more, and the producer is getting more love and more publicity than the artist.  People want to know now as to who made the beat, more so than who danced the dance.  If you taught someone to create the dance that Soulja Boy did, and they did the exact same song to the same beat, would they succeed?  Can anyone be told to sit down, write some rap or hip hop lyrics, and put it onto a beat?  Or would they fail?

With that said, it clearly is the decade for the hip hop beats over the lyricists to shine, especially since it seems that more lyrical hip hop music has moved to the underground.  I can't remember the last time the radio played something lyrical.  Can you?  What are your thoughts of the hip hop music and rap music change of today?  And do you think lyrical hip hop will ever make its face back into mainstream and on the radio?